Bad back and wanting to jog again.

[Silverfoxlady]

Dear all,

I am working towards strengthening my back and core muscles so I can start jogging again. I really miss it, and haven’t been since the pregnancy and birth of my DD 8 months ago.

Can anyone recommend a good YouTube video to strengthen core muscles? Any other recommendations? I was going to try Couch to 5K when I am stronger.

Thanks for your help.

Bowflex 3-minute plank
Caroline Girvan 15-minute plank
Caroline Girvan Braced Core and Abs

• any abs workout by Caroline Girvan

Thank you for the reply.

I laughed at the 3-minute plank. This is definitely one to work up to (currently able to do 10 seconds)!

Will give this a go today.

I developed really bad back issues after my 3rd pregnancy, due to weak core. I’m hypermobile which exacerbated issues. I was told by the physiotherapist that I’d be managing the condition for life and shouldn’t run again.

I’ve run 3 marathons since and my back has been completely pain free for years. At its worst I couldn’t even do a full supermarket shop, I’d have to cut it short due to pain. I can’t remember the exercises I did but I can confirm that it’s very possible to sort this and run or jog again.

That is great news! At the moment my back gets pulled every few days, just from leaning over the cot-bed and taking the baby out or holding her on one hip and trying to do housework.

Fingers crossed this will be a thing of the past with exercise.

I know the feeling re. planks, @Silverfoxlady but do persevere. A strong core is the key to overall fitness. I remember how I struggled initially, many years ago. And here I am. At 70, still super fit.

NB: I also highly recommend Caroline Girvan's weight training programme's. EPIC 3 and EPIC Heat are good ones to start. Start with 3-4 kg dumbbells and work your way up.

There's a 30 day planks challenge app I follow, you tell it your level and it builds a programme. The last week of each level does get a bit ridiculous if I'm honest, but i just do what I can.

If you want to add more after a bit Cat Meffan has a ten minute yoga series called Commit but you might want to wait until you're confident with planks as you don't want to put your back out doing a forward fold.

Can you get to a Pilates class? I developed back issues after first child and mild prolapse after second - all mostly fixed via Pilates and I took up running. You're still early days and the muscles have been through the mill. Pelvic floor exercises will help too, you should do them 3x daily. I love some of the clench a long ones on TikTok!

In addition to the suggestion of Cat Meffan for yoga, I would also recommend Livinleggings who has a series of yoga-based stretch exercises that are excellent for flexibility and strength. She does have a paid for subscription, but a lot of her sessions are free on YouTube. They are quite short, so I often do one before my main workout.